NDR north German television recently broadcast a report about the protests against a planned windpark near the German village of Kreien, some 200 km east of Hamburg.

White tail eagles being chased away from nest by loudspeakers in order to clear the way for permitting 14 wind turbines over 200 meters tall in Northern Germany. Image cropped: juvenile white-tailed eagle, Christoph Müller (www.christophmueller.org) –CC BY 4.0

One local resident told NDR television the area is already packed with 178 turbines, and that the plans to build 14 new over 200-meter tall behemoths are no longer welcome. The resident had noticed something very peculiar: a loudspeaker system that had been installed in the area of the planned project (see video, 0:20 mark).

Apparently the speaker system had been put in place to scare away white tail eagles that might get the idea to nest atop an adjacent nesting mast just meters away. The mast had been provided earlier for the purpose of providing a nesting place for the endangered bird species. White tail eagles nesting there would mean a sure stop of the project, and shooing them away would ensure the go-ahead for the wind project.

The sound of barking hounds

Eagles entering the area and looking to establish a nest there would be scared away by the sound of barking dogs blaring from the speaker (2:40). The result: keeping the nest empty and thus a free path for the construction of the wind park by wind project company UKA Nord.

Residents in the area have reacted angrily at the prospect of yet even more giant wind turbines getting erected in their area, and especially at the tactics used by UKA Nord to ward off potential nesting birds.

One local mayor described the loudspeaker measure as “unbelievable”.

Climate protection before habitat protection?

When asked to comment by NDR, windpark builder UKA Nord replied by text message claiming that the nesting mast was not “to protect birds” but instead was “a pure measure to prevent the expansion of wind energy, which is necessary for climate protection.”

Moreover, the written UKA Nord statement appealed to the local policymakers “to live up to their responsibility for transition to green energies and climate protection and strive for a constructive cooperation.”

At the 3:30 mark of the report, citizens are shown banding together to organize a citizen’s group against the project. So far they have seen some success. The UKA Nord has since turned off the speaker system and it’s been decided to dismantle it. Yet, plans for the construction of the park still have not been halted.